Posts tagged Richmond
Richmond-Area Penske Workers Latest to Eject Teamsters Following Unanimous Vote to End Teamsters’ So-Called ‘Representation’
September 23, 2026 // Employees at Penske Truck Leasing are officially free from the unwanted “representation” of Teamsters Local 592 union officials, after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified a vote of Penske workers to “decertify” Teamsters union bosses. The decertification effort was spearheaded by Penske employee Jordan Cutrell, who received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys during the decertification process.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden files injunction to end ‘unlawful’ picketing amid ongoing strike
September 22, 2026 // The dispute between Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and union workers is escalating as the Garden seeks a temporary injunction against picketers who have been on strike for more than two weeks. According to court documents, the Garden is asking a judge to prohibit picketers from engaging in what it describes as unlawful conduct. The motion alleges some picketers have blocked its entrance, used abusive language toward employees crossing the picket line, trespassed on its property and engaged in conduct that endangered public safety
Is Union “Dues Skim” Coming to Virginia?
April 8, 2026 // There are many reasons why Governor Abigail Spanberger should veto the collective bargaining bill headed to her desk, a bill requiring local and state governments to bargain with union bosses even if less than a majority of public employees want the union or the bargaining. There is the fact that it will force major spending increases on local governments, just as it added $350 million to Richmond City’s costs when that city voluntarily approved collective bargaining four years ago, and to Fairfax County, which giddily adopted collective bargaining, only to find it’s driven a $300 million shortfall this year.
Tentative agreement reached to end West Contra Costa teachers strike
December 11, 2025 // The West Contra Costa County teacher strike is now officially over. After a marathon 12-hour negotiation session, the teachers' union and the school district reached a tentative agreement at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.
CALIFORNIA: WCCUSD teachers’ strike not inevitable, union says, but sides remain far apart on salary and benefits
November 23, 2025 // The district has said it doesn’t have sufficient funding, citing a budget deficit that has put it at risk of state takeover. The district plans to withdraw $13 million from reserve funds to cover the projected deficit for this school year. The union’s demands include a 10% increase in salary over two years, full medical benefits coverage, and reductions in class sizes. The district initially offered no increase in salary or in the percentage of benefits it pays, but then offered a 2% salary increase and a bump in its health coverage from 80% to 85%, which the union rejected.
Okonite union workers continue strike after health coverage cut following contract rejection
May 28, 2025 // Okonite’s website says 186 people are employed at the Santa Maria facility. According to Reynolds, about 160 of those are union members and they’re the ones currently feeling the fallout from the rejected contract, the sudden insurance loss, and the termination notices.
COMMENTARY: US Postal Workers Are Fighting Massive Service Cuts
November 11, 2024 // Thousands of US Postal Service jobs are at stake under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s modernization plan, which would close 200 mail processing plants and funnel all mail to 60 mega-plants. Postal workers are organizing to stop the plan.
Trucking Company Employees Force Out Teamsters Union Bosses in Virginia, Similar Ouster Could Soon Come in New Jersey
November 4, 2024 // Nelson Chilson, a truck driver for NAPA Transportation in Richmond, VA, submitted a petition earlier this month in which the majority of his coworkers asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote to remove Teamsters Local 322 union bosses. Just days earlier, a group of Philadelphia-area Penske Logistics truckers led by Shawn Shute also filed a petition demanding the same kind of NLRB election to oust Teamsters Local 500. Both Chilson and Shute are receiving free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.
Thousands Of Virginia Public School Teachers And Staff Vote To Unionize
June 12, 2024 // The labor victory is the biggest for Virginia unions since Democratic lawmakers overturned a decadesold prohibition on public-sector bargaining.
Virginia is battleground in baristas’ organizing fight
April 18, 2023 // The biggest morale boost for Richmond Starbucks barista Tyler Hofmann is when customers make up names like “union solidarity” to identify their orders. “It gets printed out and [employees] have to call out union stuff in the café,” he said. That opens up an opportunity for discussion about workers’ ongoing grievances against the specialty coffee giant. Hofmann is working at Starbucks again after having been fired last May in what his union and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) claimed was illegal retaliation for his organizing efforts at the Richmond store. A private settlement was reached between the company and the regional board of the Workers United union, according to the NLRB, and Hofmann was reinstated.